Self Employment Solution--Part 3

By Kellene, Preparedness Pro on 9 January 2014 - 3:15am

2014 will be the year of self-employment on Preparedness Pro. Sure, I’m going to continue to write regarding ALL of the 10 Principles of Preparedness, but this year I feel a sense of urgency, coupled with a strong passion, to really help make a change in the lives of our readers—specifically when it comes to creating and being able to rely upon an independent revenue stream.

Far too many people view the words “self-employment” as some out-of-reach, risky proposal that only the most learned, lucky, or well-connected persons can achieve but I’m telling you right here, right now that successful self-employment in today’s world does NOT require such conditions.

I believe that 2014 will begin to uncover some of the most significant economic and social upheaval that this nation has ever endured. This anticipation puts me in a position of considering strategic counter-moves to this crisis; I start thinking of “if this happens, what’s the best defense?” The answer to that question leads me to this Self-Employment Solution series of articles that I began posting back in November of last year.

The first two segments of this Self-Employment Solutions series highlighted specific criteria that you need in order to begin your journey to financial self-sufficiency. Today’s part will provide you with a little shot in the arm to help show you just how serious I am when I say that YES, you CAN create an alternative income stream. Not only that, but I’m going to give you a peek into the lives of some folks who have been able to do this amidst a myriad of circumstances; circumstances such as a full-time single mother of six being able to support herself by working ONE HOUR a day. Or perhaps you’d be more interested in the middle-aged man with nothing more than a high school degree, who’s gone from barely making ends meet living on disability after a serious car accident with an uninsured driver left him paralyzed from the waist down, and, as he put it, from the heart, up, emotionally speaking. Personally, my favorite is a friend of mine who came to me only 8 months ago, living off of every government handout option she could find, only to turn things completely around and now earn ALL of her income as a result of her own efforts, at home, where she homeschools 5 special needs children.

Now, before I get into some more information on some of these possibilities with you I want to clear up a misconception that I see passed around a lot. There’s a saying that “Knowledge is power”. Well, I’m here to tell you that knowledge is NOT power, but it sure does have the potential to play a pivotal role in becoming more empowered to live your life instead of having your life beat the living daylights out of you. The truthful statement is “APPLIED Knowledge is power.” If the mere possession of knowledge was power, then all of those people who pontificate 10 paragraph answers on social media would rule the world and receive medals of honor. Everyone thinks that Einstein was a brilliant man as if he was merely born that way, but he mentions frequently in his journals that he succeeded only by applying the lessons learned from his mistakes. If Leonardo Da Vinci were here today he’d also tell you that his masterful inventions and pieces of art he created were inspired by someone else’s knowledge that had simply failed to be applied to its highest levels of possibilities. I’m sharing this with you because what we try to do at Preparedness Pro is to share KNOWLEDGE. But in the name of self-sufficiency, which is at the core of the reason for trying to share that knowledge, is that you actually APPLY it, and DO something with it. So, as I share these examples of possibilities with you, DON’T allow yourself to dismiss them as unique events of success or some freakish anomaly. Yes, there may be a million ways for a business to fail out there, but you only need ONE way to make it succeed. I firmly believe that for every way there is to fail in business, there’s at least ten ways to succeed, though sometimes it doesn’t seem that way because those that fail at business have far too much time on their hands to moan and whine and complain while those who are succeeding at business are off actually APPLYING their knowledge.

Let’s take a look at some of these scenarios. (And, by the way, for those of you who are skittish, you’ll note that NONE of these scenarios that I’ll share with you include a person involved in multi-level marketing, aka network marketing, which is often improperly categorized as a pyramid scheme.)

Let’s first take my friend Pam Ritter. Pam is a single mother of 6 (though we are trying patiently to rectify the “single” status with her newfound Prince Charming. *grin*) yes, I said SIX. And yes, at present all 6 of her children are under her care. 2 years ago when she found herself newly divorced, she felt that it was more important to be a PRESENT mother, than an always absent one which is what would have been required of her if she were to take the typical route of working full-time. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that can attest that working full-time when you have SIX kids to care for isn’t likely to be enough unless you’re independently wealthy. So, instead of going to the government for support, she decided to create a solution for a particular niche that she identified. She created a blog site and everyday on that site she links to a unique webpage that she’s created that contains the pictures of various Amazon e-books which fit her chosen niche of homesteading, preparedness, and basically that whole “do-it-yourself” mentality. If a person clicks on these e-books and makes a purchase, then she makes a small commission from Amazon depending on how many purchase she gets in a month’s time. Furthermore, because she’s providing a conduit for customers to go onto Amazon, Amazon rewards her by giving her a commission on anything else that this person might purchase over the next 24 hours time on Amazon. So someone could merely click on a 99 cent book about all natural cures for poison ivy, but instead of buying that book, they may instead end up buying an alternative book that’s Amazon suggests, and Cha-Ching, Pam has just earned a commission.

Yes, it’s that easy. The e-books she identifies each day really have no rhyme or reason to them. They may be on sale, they may be free, or they may even be regularly priced, but if they interest her during the few hours time that she looks for them each day, she posts them and their unique Amazon Associates link on her webpage. http://www.pamspriderecommendations.com She doesn’t write a recommendation for the books, or a review. She doesn’t even alphabetize them. They may be cookbooks, instruction books, or amateur novels dealing with zombies or last days. It doesn’t really matter to her so long as she believes they would be interesting for her specifically chosen niche.

More importantly though, this work enables Pam to be at every crossroad she needs to be for her children. With an average of ONLY 350 hits on her blog page daily, she earns sufficient income to pay her mortgage, her electric and her phone bill every month! I don’t know about you, but for ONE HOUR a day, working in your pj’s or comfy work pants, that isn’t anything to sneeze at. I’ll be providing you more detailed information on the newly recorded Preparedness Pro Podcast that I hope will be all set up by the end of the month. (More on that later.)

How about if we switch gears a bit and go to another scenario. Let’s just say, for giggles and kicks, that you absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE baking and creating delicious concoctions to celebrate the special occasions in your life or perhaps, to make the ordinary moments of everyday life more extraordinary. And let’s just say that instead of spending thousands and thousands of dollars at Le Cordon Bleu, learning how to be a world-class baker, and then hoping and praying to get a good job in your chosen career—you are able to immediately create a job for yourself simply by sharing the fruit of your passions a couple times a week. And let’s just say that doing so earns you several thousand dollars a month during non-holiday months, and more than $10,000 a month during traditional holiday months such as Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas? Hmmm…do you think you might be interested in that kind of gig??

Introducing Beth, the creative author of one of my favorite guilty pleasure websites, HungryHappenings.com. Beth is the perfect example of turning one’s passion into profits.

In spite of being raised by a mother whose idea of “cooking” was heating up TV dinners in the microwave, Beth discovered a passion for creating delicious and entertaining concoctions—both savory and sweet. She refers to her work as “edible crafts”. Right out of college she landed a corporate job, but was honest enough with herself to admit that she just didn’t like it. So, while still in her 20’s she successfully operated her own store selling her memorable chocolate creations, candies and supplies. But then…the recession hit. People started cutting back on purchases. So, in the face of a shrinking income and a life challenge that hit about the same time, Beth decided to change strategies.

Today she runs a very successful blog. I say successful—not by Amazon, Facebook, or YouTube standards, but it’s a blog success because it pays her VERY well in exchange for her doing what she loves to do. Twice a week, during most months, and three times a week during holiday months, Beth will create a visually exciting treat that will tempt even the most ardent dieter. I’ve found that she uses very simple supplies and ingredients—nothing too “froo froo” that I would only have one use for. She then demonstrates clearly and succinctly how anyone who has a pulse can replicate her design. Because she’s able to live an unfettered life in a career that’s full of passion rather than permissions, she’s been able to push herself in the uniqueness of her designs and her repertoire of possibilities. Perhaps a reader will ask about creating a savory version of fondant; by gum, Beth will find it and come up with an inspiring way or two (or 30) to use it. In exchange for her pursuing her passions, combined with today’s technology, Beth is able to earn more income each month than many persons who have a masters or doctorate degrees and she does so today with an average of 75,000 readers on her blog during normal months, and about 150,000 during key holiday months. Compare that to the 25 MILLION reader visits that sites like TMZ or People Magazine will generate each month. And yet she generates sufficient for her needs in the competitive world of blogging through a combination of advertisers on her blog, affiliate commissions (more on that later) and Amazon Associate commissions.

For example, when Beth uses the Wilton silicone flower mold, as she does for this design http://www.hungryhappenings.com/2013/04/daisy-cakes-spring-dessert-bridal-shower-mothers-day.html , people like me look at that recipe and think “I can do that for my neighbors this month.” Or “I can surprise my mother-in-law with this cute little arrangement this week.” And then, people like me will simply click on her link which is hyperlinked in her instructions, and will immediately be taken to the site where I can purchase the item (such as Amazon or other sites). When I make the purchase, Beth gets a commission. It’s as simple as that.

Mind you, Beth works more hours daily than the other example I’ve provided. Eight hours is very normal for her. But she also gets to use those 8 hours doing what she LOVES to do, as well as take time out for herself and her husband and friends. In fact, I couldn’t get ahold of Beth to interview her for the longest time because she was so busy, entertaining out-of-town guests, going on vacation, and even jet-setting around the nation doing food reviews for a company that discovered her through her talented creations that have been made all over the world, posted on Pinterest, and have been featured on Martha Stewart’s site and other widely read magazines! Oh, and while she’s living her passion, she’s also being pursued by top cooking and crafting companies to do freelance work and create unique creations and tutorials specifically for them. This facet of her work has now become the majority of her income. The most memorable thing I had in my mind after interviewing Beth was when I asked her, “What is the most challenging part of what you do?” I was shocked when she replied that it’s the taking of the pictures, even going so far as to call it “the bane of my existence!” Ironically, it is because of the gorgeous and creative pictures she’s able to take which accompany her step-by-step instructions, that keep me coming back to her site! But since this article is already 4 pages long, I think we’ll have to save that particular lesson for another time.

So far, just with these two examples, we have excellent examples of independent revenue streams coming in, creating something out of nothing that has no requirement for licensing, college degrees, bank accounts, specific real estate locations, high overhead, risky financial investments, or even a massive amount of creativity. Instead you have people who keep saying I WANT to do this, so now I just need to figure out a way to monetize it and make it pay. Well, that’s where I’ll come in this year as I endeavor to help our readers succeed at these efforts via our articles and podcasts, newsletter, and heavier use of our YouTube channel. You can come up with any excuse under the sun as to why you “can’t” create some sort of self-employment for yourself, but I’m telling you that you’ll never convince me that it’s accurate.

Here’s to a HAPPY and very NEW Year as well as Peace in your Preparedness!

Thank you for that Kellene! I graduated from Radiography school 2 1/2 years ago. After graduation I able to get a job at an Urgent Care with Banner. 11 months later Banner closed the doors and I had to find a new job. I was able to find another position within Banner fairly quickly, but a year and half later I find myself unemployed (as of 1/15/14) when Banner once again is closing their doors on another pratice. Because there are 3 Radiography schools in the area the market is saturated with X-Ray techs and it is getting more and more difficult to find a job, especially the M -Th, no nights or weekends type that I have now. My husband had been working on paying my student loan off, but we still have quite a bit to go. I not sure yet what I will end up doing, but all the of your articles thus far have given me great inspiration to pursue some type of self-employment - I just have to figure out what that something is! : )

Retiring from the railroad after 30 years as a Diesel Locomotive Electrician, I thought I had seen my last job...but rising insurance costs changed that. Looking around for extra income I found a want ad for someone to change lamps in tanning beds, I could do that. A year later and after applying my trouble shooting skills from the railroad and ham radio, I'm now in high demand fixing the most complicated problems in modern high voltage tanning beds and receiving many times the pay I was ready to settle for driving pizzas, papers or other "P" words.
If you have a skill, magnify it. If you don't have a skill, go the internet college of thousands of free information sites and learn one.

Oh my! Did this info come at a good time! Looking forward to your other info later this month.
A son in law who works with this sort of thing refuses to give up any of his knowledge. We don't know why, other than he wasn't a success at it and doesn't want anyone else to figure it out.
Maybe now I WILL!

I don't have a scarcity mentality. The Lord tells us that He's provided each one of us with "enough and to spare", so one person's success doesn't have to mean that it converts into another person's failure.

I've been a proponent of folks developing multiple sources of incomes for decades or the old 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' concept. I do this via one of my newsletters and my PoorManSurvival site. However, I have found many seem unable to grasp this simple concept or like where I live, everyone seems to have all the money they'll ever need; not interested in improving their lot in life.

Kellene,
Thank you for this encouraging article. I have been downsized and right after that my parents health started failing. They are 86 and still in their own home but need more of my time to care for them. The downsizing was a blessing, I made great money, but hated the job. Now I have hope for an income that will allow me to take care of my folks and meet my personal financial needs. Thanks for the great ideas and keep them coming.

The Lord has a tendency to "herd" us or "corral" us sometimes when we get stuck in a rut, doesn't He? And when that happens, it's can be a bit painful and we might even ask "Why me?!" as a result of the disruption. But I've learned over and over again that life events such as major relationship break-ups, job losses, apartment evictions, health crises, etc. all have a loving touch of the Lord to try and steer us in the right way and there's always something greater at the end of that particular chapter. I'm glad to hear that you've had such an experience as well.

Life is so ironic. Too much loose time when I was pondering, and as soon as I got half an idea work got crazy busy again and I have hardly had time to breath, let alone think. I am really looking forward to your videos... "work" is so unpredictable but God is not, and when he "burdens" us with something it is not to be ignored, regardless of how "busy" we get for the moment.
Thank you so much for your willingness to teach, encourage and share. You are an awesome blessing!

And as an aside... last weekend we were out "antiquing" and up on a high shelf I discovered one of those bread pail things you talked about a while ago! I was SO excited! Had to put it on layaway, but it has the clamp and everything! I felt like I had won the lottery! :)

Oh my goodness young lady, you've "done it again"! It's because of your caring/sharing mentality that this "old gal" (in years only and with multiple health issues) took you at your word, followed your instructions and learned to can, among other things! You would have been proud of your "Kellene said" student! Totally tickled pink here!!!
Words cannot fully convey my appreciation for your unselfish, simple, contagious, enthusiasm and trustworthy info! Now here you are addressing this oh so vital topic ! Thank you SO much and God Bless You!!

You are one VSP (very special person) and please know when I say Thank You, it comes from the bottom of a very grateful heart.

I really need to do this quick. Got hurt on the job Feb '13, had car totaled by uninsured driver in March, surgery to repair job injury in April could go back to work in two months to specific client (that I had been with 5.5. Yrs ) and client refused! Just before being completely released for full duty, started having syncopal episodes and hospitalized, but couldn't find reason for any of it! Anyway, I have taken your advice to arm myself with knowledge all summer, and I have read your entire blog :)! Hubby and I were already in preparedness mode and had a lot done. We have had to use half of our years supply, but thank God we had it! Please help me get started if you can, I am getting desperate cause I can't drive anymore due to my problems. Your advice is welcomed ... thanks for all you do, you are truly an inspiration to us all!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My brain is in overdrive. Can't wait to implement these principals which are in themselves SO simple and goodness knows I need simple! One of the many things I love about you is your willingness to share knowledge. You're the best!

Yay, I did it. I took the plunge and started a blog! It will be used to share all the fun things I'm learning, videos I find, and books I like. I plan to set up the Amazon Affiliate thing...as soon as I figure it out. Thank you so much for caring about others enough to teach us what you know.

Great article! I HAVE to come up with a way to generate some income from home. I am still homeschooling 3 (one graduates in May), and I just Need to be here. I have a small Ebay business, but it's just little things that sell. I'm not making much there, but every little bit helps. We just have some bills that need paying, and some dental work done. Keep generating ideas, maybe one will help me! God bless!

Like many others here, I am in dire need of employment or income self-sufficiency, but have felt like a sitting duck in the world of online scams and "over my head" business opportunities. I'm not dumb or uneducated - just not business or computer savvy. The Amazon Affiliate idea sounds ideal, but how does your friend get potential customers to her site? I would have never seen or found this if not for your link. I don't even know how to twitter or facebook.

Trish, we are working on creating specific how-to suggestions that will be helpful to a lot of our readers. It's taking a LOT of time to get the project finished, but when I'm done, I really hope that it will result in some viable options for folks. One thing that this techno-idiot has learned though--social media is here to stay and must be embraced or be trampled instead. *grin*

This question is more for Pam and some technical questions. Pam created a blog site on which everyday she links to a unique webpage that she created containing pictures of various Amazon e-books, which fit her chosen niches. If people click on these e-books, they take them to the actual Amazon description page for that book. Additionally, if the picture is of the Kindle Edition of the book, it will take the people to the Amazon Kindle page for that book. How is this done?

I have EasyAzon (widget-plug-in) –this links my search (under amazon affiliates) to the book title with no way of knowing if it will be the kindle edition. In addition, the linked picture take you directly to the buy now button instead of the description page.

If it helps any, I use Mac products to access my website, and I know that some times this make small differences.

Beth, I suspect this is an interface issue with MAC and Amazon. One thing I would suggest is that you communicate with Amazon's chat feature for Associates because my experience has been that they are Wonderful to work with in that capacity. And they could llikely give you info that Pam might now be aware of. Also, I'm trying to walk a fine line between using Pam as a great example of what can be done, without letting her special secrets out that's she's worked to develop, that might compromise her business. But I will send her a link to your question and see if she'll be able and willing to help, okey dokey?